LJ Cason is done at Michigan. The guard will enter the transfer portal, becoming the first Wolverine to leave the program since Dusty May took the Dallas Mavericks job.
Joe Tipton from One3.com reported the news first. Cason averaged 6.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists over two years in Ann Arbor, mostly coming off the bench behind Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney. He tore his ACL back in February and hasn’t played since.
Cason originally committed to May when the coach was still at Florida Atlantic. When May left Boca Raton for Michigan, Cason followed him. Now May is gone again, and Cason is hitting the portal.
He’s a former three-star recruit who made an impact with his quickness and shot-making. But the injury and the coaching change left his future in doubt.
Who Replaced Dusty May?
Michigan made Mike Boynton the full-time head coach last week, giving him a two-year deal after he served on an interim basis. Boynton has been trying to hold the roster together, and so far it’s working — for everyone except Cason.
Cadeau and McKenney both announced they’re staying. So did the rest of the national championship core. Cason is the only one heading out.
The transfer portal opens for a 15-day window starting July 15 for Michigan players specifically, five days after Boynton got the job officially. That gives other Wolverines time to think it over if they want. But right now the roster is intact outside of Cason.
For a program that just won a national title and lost its coach to the NBA in the same month, losing one player to the portal is actually pretty clean. Cason’s departure might sting a little given his history with May, but Michigan’s rotation isn’t taking a major hit.
Cason will have options. He’s young, he’s shown flashes, and he’ll have time to rehab that knee. The question is whether another program will bet on him the way May did twice.
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